What Differences?

R

Rebel4ever

Joined
Oct 18, 2014
Messages
346
As a long time BM casual collector, I've recently picked up a few ZT's. They are pretty stout knives. I like them a lot. From pictures, they look the same as the Rick Hindere customs. I'm wondering what is the difference others than a big price gap? Thanks for any help here.
 
Mass Produced vs limited production is the big one. Exclusivity, name as well.
 
Elmax or M390 vs S35VN for the most part. Quality, well again we are talking mass produced vs made in a small shop where tolerances are tighter. I don't own a Hinderer, but there are many on the forum who do. I can say that my 0561 is really well made, though the detent is a bit weak.
 
I'll say this: I honestly don't believe you're getting THAT much more knife considering how much more you're paying. That's just my opinion.

If you can afford a Hinderer, more power to you! But the ZT's are extremely capable knives which feature steels and build quality that rival the best in the biz.

K.O.D. said:
My 0561 is really well made, though the detent is a bit weak.
Click to expand...

I don't own an XM, either, but their detents are said to be dialed in so one can shake the knife open. Yours might be more along the lines of an actual Hinderer, then.
 
The fit and finish in my ZT" is very good. Centered, clean detente, etc., I just couldn't imagine the hand made Hinderes being twice the quality. If I wanted one to sit in a show case, maybe I could see it, but quality and functionality as well as appearance are my first concerns. It sounds from you guys like its hard to make the argument to step up unless I want the pride of the name.
 
Build quality VS price seems to differ exponentially once you reach a certain point. The difference in build quality between an entry level kershaw at $25 and a flagship ZT at $200 is substantial. (Actual purchase prices, not retail) But as you get up into the range of CRK / Hinderer / Strider, what you're paying for is the details in the manufacturing process. Unless you're keen on your knives you'll probably not even really notice the differences. But what you have to think about is the time and attention each knife gets before it is sent out. ZT has a huge manufacturing process that builds thousands of knives to a very respectable quality control standard, but the process is still very automated. In a streamlined manufacturing process like that you can reduce cost significantly. Once you introduce more people working more hours, the cost goes up fast. Semi-Customs require more handling and inspection before being sold. You might have the same type of material as a ZT, but what you're getting with the semi-customs is the extra man-hours and the attention to detail.
 
The suggested retail price is under $400 on Hinderer knives and around $200-300 on ZT models. This means the Hinderers probably don't cost a whole lot more than the ZT versions to manufacture. Thing is, you can get ZT versions for well under retail, yet Hinderers get into the $600-700+ price range, simply due to laws of supply and demand. With ZT offering Hinderer designs, I doubt Hinderer has any plans to ramp up production.

I have several Striders and Sebenzas and other expensive stuff, and I don't regret buying them, but I can't seem to convince myself to spend the money on a Hinderer with ZT offering such comparable models.

Think about it like this... I recently got a 0562CF (M390), a regular 0562 (Elmax), and a 0620CF (M390) for well under $700 combined. Fit and finish are darned good for the money spent, and I cannot complain one bit about the warranty or service at Kai/ZT.
 
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